http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/cameron007/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from cameron007 en-us Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:10:58 +0000 Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:10:58 +0000 I flew into Budapest from nice looking forward to staying at the same hostel as when i was last here with luke and chris its by far the best hostel ive stayed in. when i arrived annathe woman who runs it said 'welcome home' which was so sweet then even better she made me dinner how good is that.first night i spent relaxing after a hectic day. the next day i got up early and met up with fa http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Hungary/Central-Hungary/Budapest/blog-88777.html After coming through the swiss alps for 1 night en route to nice i wasnt expecting much in terms of weather at all. However much to my delight when i arrived in Nice the weather was gorgeous. hot and sunnyThe drive along the french riviera was absolutely stunning and after a hot tip from the bus driver i was on the right side of the bus for the best view Nice itself was interesting. Like p http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Nice/blog-86182.html It was great to finally catch up with Damien and Emily as i missed them last time i was in Paris. It was a nice reward after a boring as 12.5 hour bus ride from MunichOnce i met up with Damien and Emily we went for a quick drink at the pub that damo had been working at. It was great to see where he had been working while staying in paris.After that we went back to his apartment. It was awesome http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-85657.html Well after a quick stop over in Vienna it was onto the busabout circuit again and off to Munich.Hostel was great wombats seem to have it down pat i must say. When i arrived i met a cool as canadian couple and another fellow aussie who were all in my room. Despite being tired as the guys in my room managed to drag me out to the hafbrauhouse unsure of spelling and cant check it right now. This pl http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Munich/blog-85185.html Still recovering from our hike we arrived in Bratislava into the worst hostel ive stayed in to date. Even worse than Hans Brinker in Amsterdam. Fortunately though we soon realised that Bratislava was actually a really beautiful happening town. The night we arrived the city centre which was all pedestrian was packed with all sorts of people Ive never seen so many cafes and bars etc in one pla http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Slovakia/Bratislava-Region/Bratislava/blog-83687.html Much to our disgust we boarded our train to the Tatras straight after our train to Bratislava from Budapest to find it was absolutely chocker block However we were very lucky to find a cargo carraige that we were allowed to sit in So we had a very pleasant ride sprawled out with the big sliding doors open watching the beautiful Slovakian countryside roll past.When we finally arrived in Terchov http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Slovakia/Presov-Region/High-Tatras/blog-83681.html Well we couldnt have gotten any luckier with the hostel. It had only been open for 1 week and it was like staying in someones house. Upon our arrival we got a tour offered tea and coffee and they even baked a cake Its the best hostel i have stayed in throughout europe.After a solid nights sleep we set out to see the sights. I took the boys down Vaci Utca and across the river to Buda to climb http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Hungary/Central-Hungary/Budapest/blog-83344.html It was a 4 hour train ride to Ljubjana from Venice and i was excited the entire way knowing i was going to catch up with Luke who i hadnt seen in 8 months When i arrived it was raining and so i navigated my way to the hostel as quickly as possible however alas by the time i arrived i was drenched. When i got there they put me in the wrong room so i actually thought Luke and Chris hadnt arrived ye http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Slovenia/Upper-Carniola/Ljubljana/blog-82865.html Back in Venice for one more quick stay. I basically came back because it was a convenient place to get a train to Lubijana from. We stayed in these funny little cabins which were actually quite comfortable and had great ensuits as well. The night we arrived ash and i went into town. We got some dinner and were sitting on the steps of a nice big building eating where we met some aussies from perth. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Veneto/Venice/blog-82863.html Due to our unfortunate experience of missing our train in Budapest Ash and I missed all of Salzburg. We arrived at midnight got a taxi straight to the hostel and went to bed. The next morning we got up had breakfast and left for the station again to go to St Johann in Tirol.It was such a shame because Salzburg looked like a spectacular city and I would have loved to see it. However our bad luck http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Tyrol/blog-82184.html Ash managed to book us a fairly cheap hostel for our one night stay here so we werent expecting much. However it turned out really pleasant. Helpful staff kitchen and a crazy cotboxing ring style bed high up near the ceiling.After buying some supplies we set out for a quick tour of Budapest. After being here only a month or so back i was able to take Ash around the must see sights. We went to He http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Hungary/Central-Hungary/Budapest/blog-80779.html After the 3 hour bus ride into Budapest we quickly made our way to Deli Pu. which was our train station. Having some time to kill and it being dinner time we quickly ran across the road to order a take away pizza for the journey. It took longer than expected and we were almost going to run off without the pizza but it came just in the nick of time When we arrived in Siofok it was after midnight http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Hungary/Central-Transdanubia/Lake-Balaton/blog-80716.html Well after a wet couple of days in Cesky we were welcomed by some more in Vienna. We stayed at a nice hostel only 4 months old so in otherwords it was to new to have been mucked up and dirtied like some of the other hostels we have stayed in. I was sick as a dog but as we only had one night here before we left for Hungary i thought it was necessary to get out and see as much of Vienna as i co http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Vienna-State/Vienna/blog-80715.html After an early moring dash to the busabout pick up point we arrived in Cesky Krumlov around noon. Unfortunately the weather turned very sour and we got our first taste of wintery weather. After months of stinking hot weather it was weird to be fishing around in my bag for a jumperThe hostel was awesome. It was very homely and was built in these loft like rooms. Awesome staff and a comfy bed tha http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/South-Bohemian-Region/Cesky-Krumlov/blog-80115.html Solid overnight train from Krakow only 4 people in an 8 people compartment. Ash and I actually managed to get some sleep thank god so when we arrived in Prague at 7am we were rearing to go After checking in we went up to Prague Castle. An amazing complex perched up on a hill with some great buildings. There was a giant church with a bell tower so being the young fit man I am i climbed it and http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/Prague/blog-79154.html The overnight train from Hungary was an experience. It was strange how the compartment just turned into 6 beds. When we arrived the view from the front of the station was incredible It is so strange to see water instead of roads.We checked into our hotel then went out for an explore around the islands. The little alleys are were trickey as to negotiate but its fun getting lost there. When we got http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Veneto/Venice/blog-78952.html Luckily for Ash and I then train to Krakow was almost empty so we were able to sprawl out and get some much need sleep. Seriously sleep is a luxury i dont seem to ever have these days so i get it when and where ever i canOnce we arrived it didnt take us long to find our hostel thank god because is was sooo hot and humid. We were pleasantly suprised with out hostel as we basically had our own http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Poland/Lesser-Poland/Krakow/blog-78786.html Headed off towards to the Amalfi coast today via pompei. After several hours of driving we arrived in Pompei and had lunch before entering the ruins. Once we got into the ruins I could fully appreciate why the ancient city is so popular amoungst tourists and historians alike. The way they town has been craved out from the ash still in remarkable condition really is a rare insight into ancient http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Amalfi/blog-76554.html When we arrived at around 8am Chris Ash and I all must have looked like death because none of us got much sleep on the bus. It was pretty bad Im short and i struggled to get even close to comfortable so poor old Chris who is a giant i think gave up about an hour in. Fortunately the packed bus emptied out by about 4am so we got a little sleep in the early hours of the morning.As soon as we got i http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Poland/Masovia/Warsaw/blog-78321.html Well my first impressions of Busabout were great. Friendly people and staff comfortable buses and overall fun atmosphere. After the short 4 hr ride we arrived in Brugge. On the way in we were told about a few specialties synonomous with Belgium. Beer. Waffles. Chocolate. What more could one ask for I think they mention lace too but honestly they lost me at chocolate. Brugge is a beautiful small http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Brugge/blog-78295.html